Dunkirk

American  

[duhn-kurk] / ˈdʌn kɜrk /

noun

1. French Dunkerque.  a seaport in N France: site of the evacuation of a British expeditionary force of over 330,000 men under German fire May 29–June 4, 1940.

2. a period of crisis or emergency when drastic measures must be enforced.

   The smaller nations were facing a financial Dunkirk.

3. a city in W New York, on Lake Erie.

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Dunkirk Cultural  

1. The scene of a remarkable, though ignominious, retreat by the British army in World War II. Dunkirk, a town on the northern coast of France, was the last refuge of the British during the fall of France, and several hundred naval and civilian vessels took the troops back to England in shifts over three days.

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The term Dunkirk is sometimes used to signify a desperate retreat.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Dunkirk

The Gravelines nuclear power plant, near the northern city of Dunkirk, is the largest in Western Europe, with six 900-megawatt reactors.

From Barron's ● Aug. 11, 2026

Prosecutors said that from about 2012 until 2016, he had been operating out of the Grand Synthe camp near Dunkirk, charging his customers £4,500-£5,000 to cross to the UK.

From BBC ● Jul. 2, 2026

Blum said that Schneider would take part in the design and supply of all the equipment with a factory to be built at the channel port of Dunkirk.

From Barron's ● May 30, 2026

SoftBank said late Saturday that its initial investment, denominated in euros at €45 billion, aims to deliver up to 3.1 gigawatts of computing capacity across France at sites in Dunkirk, Bosquel and Bouchain by 2031.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 30, 2026

Their route was taking them well to the right of the cloud, to the east of Dunkirk, toward the Belgian border.

From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan